I Want A Pony!

[Velnn]

Sacae. The very name brought many different thoughts to many different people. For some, it meant peaceful, rolling plains, formerly, untouched by the conflict that embroiled the rest of the world, now caught directly in the middle of it. For others, it meant honorable nomads bravely fighting off foreign invaders... or a free-loading, backwards people with little more than a city to their name for whom conquest would be a blessing. For Velnn, it was home, though at times it could be a rough, wild one, and now happened to be one of those times.

A barrage of steady hoofbeats riding the nearby winds was his fault, though he was only indirectly the cause; The wanderer was chasing a horse. A chestnut mare with cream-colored spots on her right flank, she had seemed the perfect mount to him, an alternative to the long walk he had ahead. True, he had never successfully ridden with a saddle and gear before, much less bareback, but a lot of things had changed in his life recently, why couldn't this be one of them?

Velnn, unfortunately, never got the opportunity to find out, as riding a horse first requires that one catch said horse, a task he was not outstandingly successful at. He had been chasing it- Her, he corrected himself, his father's teachings returning to his mind, Her. A horse is an animal, not a thing. for the better part of the morning now, having failed miserably at sneaking up on her at dawn. Many times, he had seen his parents run down prime wild stallions, but they did so in the proper garb, not heavy wool and leather armor.

Inevitably, a little before noon, Velnn, sweaty, tired, and in somewhat poorer spirits than when he woke up, gave up on the mare, watching her run off over a long hill into the distance. He paused, wavered, panted, and finally slumped onto his rear on the ground, leaning back and resting on his hands, eyes rising up to take a view of the clouds he did not yet know he was sharing. "Crap."

[Lethenir Vanether]

Sharing those clouds, indeed. A certain young theif from Ilia who was looking to gather companions to take back to his home had been wandering along the edge of the mountains not far in front of where Velnn was currently sitting. He had taken to nibbling on a tough piece of meat in his ration pouch. It was clearly from some wild game, but he was too hungry and preoccupied with other things to notice or care. It wasn't until he heard a slight thud that he dropped into a nearby patch of tall grasses and as quietly as he could, he moved closer to see what had made the noise. He remembered the sound of galloping hooves not long ago, so perhaps this was related. Lethenir had lived inside a castle his whole life, so the outside world fascinated him to a large degree. He was curious more than anything. He swallowed the last bit of the chunk of meat and took a slow, deep breath.

As he peered through the grasses he drew his blade, keeping the blade parallel to his forearm under his cloak as he stepped out of the grass. "Hello. My name is Lethenir," He stated to the man sitting in front of him. He had his manners beaten into him. It seemed that even to absolute strangers, ones that he might possibly have to fight to the death, he was polite. Or was it a ruse? At this point, even Lethenir himself wasn't sure.

[Velnn]

Velnn's thoughts wandered as he stared at the sky, eyes following one white puffy cloud that looked rather like a rabbit trying to do a handstand. Or at least, it did to Velnn. It wasn't until the thief spoke that he even noticed he wasn't alone, but he probably wouldn't have seen him even if he was looking. Regardless, he was relatively nonplussed by the sudden appearance of this cloaked young man. People tend to come out of nowhere a lot when you don't pay much attention to your surroundings.

"Nice to meet you, Lethenir." He replied, looking over with a smile, without a hint of suspicion or malice... to a cloaked stranger. The guy's naivete was going to get him killed sooner or later. "I'm Velnn." He let his arms slip out from under him, and flopped onto his back, hands resting behind his head, his gaze returning to the sky above, accepting Leth's company without so much as a single question. Ok, well, one question. "Hey, Leth, you wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you? I'm starving."

[Valikae]

Valikae pulled the reins and eased Athos to a stop. He had heard a pack of wild horses stampede and wondered what could have cause them to scatter like such. He turned off the dusty path and headed through the plains toward the noise. 'What am I getting myself into?' he thought as he prodded his coal black companion into a trot. He could be leading himself straight into a bandit's trap, but at the very least that would give him a chance to practice his archery skills in real combat.

As he rode Athos to the apex of the nearby hill, he could see out far across the plains, to his left the recently startled horses were attempting to resettle near a small watering hole. To his right two men stood conversing. Valikae scanned the rest of the plains but couldn't find anything else that would've startled the horses so he focused on the two men. One seemed like some sort of thief or vagabond. He had reddish brown hair and from what Valikae could tell he looked Ilian. The other was definitely Sacaen, the way he held himself gave him away as a Tribesman. The two seemed to be cautiously eying each other down, but they didn't seem to be hostile and Valikae's curiosity seemed to get the better of him, so he shouted out a Sacaen cheer of friendship, and brought Athos into a full gallop over the other side of the hill. Time to see what these two were up to.

[Lethenir Vanether]

Lethenir nodded to the man who had asked for food and pulled a piece of the meat in his rather small ration pouch out, handing it to him with his right hand while his sword was still hidden under his cloak. He heard the shout and then the sound of hooves from the nearby hill. He turned his gaze in that direction to see another man on horseback. There was a very distinct trait about the people from this area, and although Lethenir knew it was there he couldn't determine what it was. Maybe it was just the fact that they were the people of Sacae? he didn't know. Perhaps he could find out if he convinced them to join him so they could travel a bit.

"Ah...another traveler. Excellent. I had been looking for traveling companions. I'll explain why as soon as our new arrival gives us a proper greeting," Lethenir says to Velnn, particularly the last part. While it was most unfortunate that Sir Rayl, Chelsea, and Gabriel had other matters to attend to maybe these two can help me. They seem capable enough, although Velnn might be a bit detached. No matter. He looks sturdy. He was roaming around alone out here.

[Velnn]

Velnn's apparent lack of interest faded quite quickly when he was indeed offered food, diving onto the strip of jerky with surprising vigor, devouring it with relish. He didn't so much as acknowledge a fellow Sacaen, or Leth's comment about him, until he was not only finished eating, but had finished making sure there wasn't a bit of taste left on his fingers, either. Slumping back onto his rear again, the rather animated wanderer rested a hand on his stomach, and sighed pleasantly. "Whew, I needed that."

Turning his upper body back towards where the most recently approaching individual was coming from, he shouted his own greeting back, pulling himself to his feet. "Hello!" He rose, raising his arm with a wave. One had to wonder what went on in Velnn's head most of the time, or if there was anything going on in there at all. What came next was, at least presumably, a comment on the good fortune of a chance meeting. "The wind is our friend today!"

[Valikae]

"Indeed it is," Valikae replied, returning the Sacaean greeting. He slowed Athos down to a stop in front of the two men, and swung off of the horse and landed in front of them, dusting off his breeches. "It is always welcome news to find two friendly people amongst all the chaos these days. Especially when one of them is a brother of the plains. I am Valikae, of the Kutolah tribe. I was on my way to Pherae, to receive training in the archery academy there, but something tells me you two would provide me with much more applicable training. So tell me, to what end do you travel this far out into the Plains?"

[Lethenir Vanether]

Tribe? Is that how they take surnames out here in Sacae? That isn't the way I was given a surname. Although I took my mother's surname after I found out the truth. Zettz....I won't accept such a disgraceful title. A faint look of anger faded onto Lethenir's face only for a moment. He then remembered that he was in the company of two good-willed individuals which quickly turned his expression back to a smile. "Hello, Valikae. I am Lethenir and this is Velnn." He motioned to Velnn at the last part. "How I got here is a long story...one that I don't have time to tell. Why I'm here, though, is to gather allies. Comrades, if you will. Something terrible will soon happen in Ilia just over those mountains," he points to the mountain range to his own right as he says this. "I realize we've just met, so I don't expect you to fully accept my request until you know the details, but will you lend me your strength to save my home?"

Lethenir was finally starting to feel a bit more at ease in the presence of these two. They appeared to have no ill will toward him at all, so he threw open both sides of his cloak. "Forgive my distrust. I had my blade drawn as a safety precaution. I haven't met many people who had my best interests in mind." He sheathed his blade so that they could see him do so when he finished speaking.

[Velnn]

Velnn nods as his name is spoken, and he is introduced to this nomadic archer. "And your name is...?" He trailed off, leaving an opening to reply in, before standing up again, stretching as he returned to his feet, leather armor creaking slightly in protest as he did, his own blade swinging out of his belt and onto the ground rebelliously. "Guh. One moment." The mercenary retrieved his sword from the grass, and returned it to its spot, apparently not possessing a sheath for it.

Velnn became a bit more serious as Leth pointed over the hills, turning his head to look in that direction, then back to listen to the thief, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Well, I'd definitely like to..." He replied after a moment of thought, chin resting in his hand. "But isn't there a war of some sort going on here, too?" That wasn't a rhetorical question, he honestly wasn't sure. "Still, tell us the details."

[Valikae]

Valikae's thoughts returned to the words of the Oracle, but he knew that he was in no shape to take down an empire single-handedly, and for what it was worth these two men seemed like good people. They would surely make good allies, and if nothing else helping Lethenir would simply provide him with good practical training.

"Alright Lenethir, I will pledge you my loyalty, and with it my bow. But if we are to travel together, I must know the details. And if it's not to much to ask, I would like to request that we make a quick stop to ask for the blessing of the Mani Katti. It's a Sacaean tradition. You can fill us in on the situation while we ride to the shrine. But first, it would appear the two of you need mounts. You'd be hard pressed to keep up with ol' Athos here on foot," he said, patting the top of his horse's head affectionately. "What do you say we go get you two some horses, the traditional Sacaen way?" And as he said this, he nodded his head towards the herd of wild horses that was just now settling back down for a drink and some rest at the nearby watering hole.

[Lethenir Vanether]

Lethenir scratched his head for a moment. "Wait...there's a war going on here? I was unaware of this. My apologies. As I said, you do not have to come with me. I would not ask you to stop protecting your home and countrymen. I am trying to do just that, and hypocrisy is not a good trait to have."

He listened to what Valikae had to say and gave a reply, "You're very kind, Valikae. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I'm sure the people we will save back home will be thankful to you as well. I do agree that a horse would be faster, although I must admit that I have never ridden one before."

He peered over towards the watering hole and nodded. "I'm not sure how I could help you wrangle a couple of horses for us, but I'm willing to listen if you have any ideas." I'll wait until after we've got the horses and are on our way to the Mani Katti, whatever and wherever it is, to explain things to them.

[Velnn]

"Well, I may have an idea actually, but I'll have to hear what's up first." Velnn grins good-naturedly, rolling his shoulder, shifting his weight somewhat restlessly. He wasn't used to standing still for this long. "Oh, the Mani Katti!" He grins, turning towards his other companion. "I knew I was forgetting something." He'd say it'd explain his poor luck, but it'd also have to retroactively explain the last twenty years, which was a bit harder to swallow.

It didn't take the swordsman long to react to the suggestion of running down a horse again, his seemingly boundless energy flaring right back up to full strength. "What're we waiting for?" He kicked off of the hill with one leg, and hit the ground running, bolting down the slope towards the horses without the slightest hint of subtlety. "Hoo-ah!"

[Valikae]

Valikae chuckled watching as Velnn finally ran down the chestnut mare, 'well you can't doubt the man's enthusiasm,' he thought to himself. He cheered as his fellow Sacaen ran down and leaped onto the horse, and though the horse freaked out at first, a few calming gestures from Velnn and he was calmed down and trotting back towards the others, his face beaming with pride.

It took a little while longer to get Lethinir his mount, through no fault of his own the other horses were just already startled and it took a little extra effort to get to them, but after about twenty minutes or so of running they finally managed to get Lethenir a mount. It was a handsome mount too, with beautiful features. "Now we ride," Valikae stated, excited to be finally starting on the path of this supposed prophecy.

[Lethenir Vanether]

Lethenir had never been trained in how to ride a horse, or even how to get on one properly. He had managed to climb atop this beautiful, wild one, though. He was able to keep his balance fairly well despite the constant shifting and apparent unease of the horse. But soon they were off towards the Mani Katti.

"Alright. Now that we're on our way I will explain." He kept his eyes straight as to not lose sight of his path. He didn't want to end up underneath his horse or flat on his back behind it as it ran away. "I am the illegitimate son of Duke Warren Zettz of Ilia. His castle is a short ways on the other side of that mountain range I pointed you towards before. Up until two days ago I had never set foot outside of those cold stone walls. I had to fight my way through the main gate past four guards and then jump off of one of the castle walls to a snow bank below in order to escape. If not for the help of Sir Rayl of Pharae, who was passing through this area himself, I wouldn't be alive right now." Lethenir pauses for a moment, taking a breath and looking to see if he still has the ear of his companions. He knew how far-fetched his story must sound right now, but he knew no other way to tell it.

[Captain Mikar]

Mikar eased back his shoulders as he approached the shrine. He had been walking for days and he hasn't seen water in weeks. "This sword better be worth the trouble of gettin here." Mikar grumbled as he stepped in the shrine.

There was a priest praying towards the back of the shrine. Mikar snuck up on him quietly and put his axe around the priest's throat. "You can hurt me but you cant touch the sword!" The preist shouted. "Oh, shut up." Mikar said as he pulled out some rope from his sack on his shoulder. Mikar proceeded to tie up the priest, and headed for the room in the back.